Our best overall pick is BeautyBio’s The Radiance Facial Oil
Whether your skincare preferences lean natural or you’re just looking for a dose of moisture that won’t break you out, plant oils are where it’s at. Rosehip oil, in particular, is a favorite among celebs, beauty editors, and dermatologists alike—and for a good reason. “Rosehip oil is a dry oil, meaning it hardens if exposed to air for a long period,” says board-certified dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD. “It’s great because it is easily absorbed yet doesn’t leave that greasy, uncomfortable feeling.”
Beyond quenching thirsty skin and offering a dewy glow, this non-comedogenic, anti-inflammatory ingredient tackles a slew of skin woes. We’re talking eczema, rosacea, breakouts, acne scars, fine lines, and dullness.1
Lots of products combine earth-sourced oil with skin-loving vitamins, antioxidants, and humectants. But rosehip is pretty amazing on its own. According to Dr. Engelman, “It contains vitamin C, linoleic acid, oleum acid, lycopene, and retinol.”
To find the best on the market, we scoured the Internet for the best blends, choosing our favorites based on their active ingredients, concentration, skin feel, how well they absorb, and value. After consulting experts and narrowing down our top picks, we landed on these top picks.
Best Overall: BeautyBio The Radiance Brightening Omega + Rosehip Seed Facial Oil
To get the full benefit of rosehip, Dr. Engleman says to look for a product that lists it as one of the first few ingredients, like The Radiance from BeautyBio. The number one ingredient is our hero, rosa canina fruit oil, which is packed with skin-loving fatty acids and radiance-boosting antioxidants. Combined with oat oil and ginger root, you have an anti-inflammatory triple-threat of soothing, redness-reducing goodness.2
This little tincture also contains rice bran extract, a natural skin plumper shown to smooth uneven texture, minimize the appearance of fine lines, and enhance elasticity.3 Apply a few drops to cleansed skin once or twice a day, and you’ll be on your way to a healthy, radiant, even-toned complexion.
Best Budget: The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
Rosehip oil typically isn’t a particularly expensive ingredient on its own. That’s why we appreciate this 100 percent pure, no-nonsense option from The Ordinary. It’s organic, cold-pressed, and naturally rich in retinol and essential fatty acids
Best Drugstore: Acure The Essentials Rosehip Oil
Acure makes a great affordable option, too. This underrated drugstore brand’s take on rosehip oil is 100 percent pure, cold-pressed, certified organic, and wonderfully lightweight.
Best Splurge: Herbivore Phoenix Facial Oil
This splurge-worthy golden liquid is worth its weight in gold. Rosehip oil is the second ingredient, right behind jojoba oil, for a one-two punch of soothing, barrier-replenishing benefits. Herbivore Phoenix also contains CoQ10 to even out skin tone and stimulate collagen production
Best Organic: PURA D’OR Organic Rosehip Seed Oil
This generously sized 4-ounce bottle contains nothing more than 100 percent pure, certified organic, cold-pressed rosehip seed oil. We like that it comes in a pump bottle, making it easy to use and a little more sanitary than your typical dropper-style oil.
Best Blend: Anne’s Apothecary Restore Facial Oil
Anne’s Apothecary Restore is a superstar facial oil with all the right ingredients. It blends rosehip with a medley of other plant oils, including jojoba and safflower, to reduce inflammation, replenish the skin barrier, and boost elasticity without clogging your pores.
Best Under Makeup: Farsali Rose Gold Elixir
Farsáli’s Rose Gold Elixir clocked a 5-out-of-5 score from our at-home tester, who said it now holds a permanent place on her vanity. This lightweight, fast-absorbing potion creates a lovely canvas for dewy makeup application. You can also add a drop or two to your foundation to make it more easily spreadable while enhancing your glow.
Best for Sensitive Skin: Terra Beauty Bars Noite 5 Plant Blend Active Super Seed Elixir
Sensitive skin? Noite is your new best friend. This exceedingly gentle elixir combines rosehip with other anti-inflammatory plant oils, including grape seed, argan, watermelon, and lavender. It soothes reactive complexions and tackles redness while delivering a radiant, healthy-looking glow.
Best for Dry Skin: Gisou Honey Infused Face Oil
The Gisou Honey Facial Oil was a big hit with our tester. In addition to delivering much-needed moisture to dry skin during the colder months of the year, she appreciated the healing, nourishing effects of honey and propolis
Best for Acne-Prone Skin: Blume Meltdown Acne Oil
Blume Meltdown is your best bet in the battle against breakouts. In addition to redness-reducing rosehip, this anti-inflammatory medley calls on black cumin seed and tamanu oils to tackle acne-causing bacteria, while tea tree keeps future breakouts at bay
Best for Acne Scars: Ode to Self Skincare De Palma Hydrating and Clarifying Facial Oil
If you have acne scars, we recommend keeping a bottle of De Palma on hand. This super-moisturizing and clarifying facial oil alleviates dryness on contact. With regular use, it promises to fade scarring and dark spots while evening out your skin tone.
Best for Mature Skin: Grown Alchemist Pure Rosehip Oil Mosqueta
This rosehip oil is sourced from the seeds of rosa mosqueta, a wild rose that grows high up in the Andes Mountains. Offering a natural dose of firming, line-reducing retinol and plumping, replenishing fatty acids, it’s a breath of fresh air for mature skin.
Best Cleanser: Urban Hydration Olive & Rosehip Face Cleansing Oil
Rosehip is also great in face washes. This cleansing oil from Urban Hydration combines it with olive oil, fatty acids, and vitamin E to gently clarify the skin and dissolve makeup without drying it out or stripping the barrier.
Best Whole-Body: Radha Beauty Rosehip Oil
Want to reap the benefits of rosehip from head to toe? This blue bottle has your name on it. The 100 percent pure, certified organic oil is sourced from rosa rubiginosa, a rose species native to Asia and Europe. It’s ideal as a whole-body moisturizer, a massage oil, or even as a hair treatment.
Runner-Up, Best Whole-Body: Kora Organics Noni Glow Body Oil
This is another great pick for the body, as it contains rosehip alongside a blend of other nutrient-rich ingredients to hydrate and tone the skin, such as vitamin E, sunflower seed oil, and sea buckthorn. Reviewers noted that it made their skin look glowy and smooth, and that it can be layered underneath lotion since it’s so lightweight.
Best for Hair: Briogeo Farewell Frizz Rosehip, Argan & Coconut Hair Oil
Briogeo’s Farewell Frizz combines rosehip with argan and coconut oils to smooth flyaways and restore dry, brittle hair. You can use it as an overnight treatment or an everyday styler on wet or dry hair.
Best Soothing: Typology Organic Rosehip Botanical Oil
If you have irritated or inflamed skin, this cold-pressed formula from Typology will work wonders to soothe and hydrate the skin. Its only ingredient is 100% organic naturally-derived rosehip seed oil, so its formula is completely vegan and free of any potential additives. We love that it can be used on the face and the body, and can address skin concerns such as fine lines, stretch marks, and hyperpigmentation.
Final Verdict
Our number one pick is BeautyBio The Radiance, an anti-inflammatory blend of plant oils and extracts that soothes redness, smooths uneven texture, and targets various signs of photoaging. On a budget? You can’t go wrong with The Ordinary’s 100 percent pure and organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil.
What to Look for in a Rosehip Oil
Source
When browsing products, you’ll want to pay attention to the source of the oil, or more specifically, how it’s derived from roses. “Look for rosehip specifically. Rose oil is not the same,” says Dr. Engelman. “Rosehip oil is extracted from the fruit seeds of a rose. The fruits are small bulbous plants, and the seeds inside are cold-pressed to extract the oil from the pressure.”
Ingredients
You’ll find many 100 percent pure rosehip oils, meaning they don’t contain any other ingredients (like the Typology Organic Rosehip Botanical Oil). Pure options offer lots of benefits, though there are many excellent blends on the market, too.
Concentration
One thing to keep in mind about oil blends is that you can never be sure exactly how much rosehip oil they contain. If it’s the first ingredient listed, then it’s the main ingredient, but otherwise, it’s hard to discern how much is actually used. “If a product is touting that it is rosehip oil, but you look at the ingredient list, and it is listed near the bottom, then that means it’s not one of the main ingredients,” says Dr. Engelman. “You won’t be getting the same level of benefits if there is not a substantial dose of the oil.”
FAQ
What does rosehip oil do?
Rosehip oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, retinol, and antioxidants like vitamin C. It helps heal the skin, fade scars, renew your complexion, minimize the appearance of fine lines, even out skin tone, and is an excellent natural moisturizer.
How do you use rosehip oil?
Many people use it as a final step or underneath their regular moisturizer, but rosehip oil can be applied to the face or body at virtually any step of your routine. Warm a few drops between your fingers, and then gently press or massage it onto your skin or mix it in with some lotion.
Does rosehip oil clog pores?
Rosehip seed oil is a non-comedogenic oil which means it won’t clog pores. And since it’s a dry oil, it absorbs quickly into the skin.
